really worried about 5month old ds...

[PipIsOutNow]

hiya

ds has been to the docs twice already this week with a nasty cold and a hideous cough. told by two docs that it was a virus etc etc. but since monday he hasnt eaten and if he manages 2oz of milk he'll be sick straight after. i cant get juice or water into him and iv just changed his nappy which was hardly damp and there was a small amount of orange stuff in his nappy. its def not poo, its come from the front...can someone please help me? he's gone back to docs now with dp, iv stayed at home coz im really poorly myself...i just cant stop crying im so worried about him xx

Sounds like he is dehydrated. If you really cannot get any fluid into him, he needs to get put on a drip. The first thing to try is oral rehydrating fluid and, if he cannot hold that down, plain water. Try a syringe if he cannot take it any other way.

I would take him to A&E anyway and have him checked out by a paediatrician. I don't really trust GPs when it comes to babies (at least not in general, I am sure some are excellent).

im just sick of them telling me its a virus!! i just want my little boy better!! he;s so lethargic and not himself, he's lost his voice. he looks and sounds bloody awful. only thing is getting to a&e atm might be difficult we've had 5inches of snow here...still waiting for dp to come back from docs xx

Well, not to be flippant, but most of the nastiest illnesses are viruses!

You must not ignore dehydration as it will eventually affect the kidneys and can do long term damage.

I am not a doc but, short of a drip, what they would do at the hospital is alternate calpol and calprofen at 2 hourly intervals (i.e each drug given four hourly but out of synch). There is a better chance of a baby eating and drinking properly if the fever is lower. Then it is a question of getting fluids in. Babies can do without eating for a long time but fluids are critical. Buy some oral rehydrating solution from a chemist and use a pipette/syringe to give him as much as he can take without vomiting. Then keep repeating as often as possible until you get enough wet nappies.

If you are really worried, don't hesitate to call an ambulance if you cannot get out. Your son is more important than worrying about wasting someone's time.

Personally, I'd go to A&E. They're really good seeing children and won't mind if it turns out to be nothing. However, you'll be up all night with worry if you don't (been there, done that!). If you're worried and can't get out call NHS Direct or 999.

Would he suck on a wet (clean) flannel?

iv managed to get an oz of water into him and he has 4oz of milk earlier and kept it down so fingers crossed this is him on his road to recovery. the docs gave him antibiotics too - my dp saw a lovely doctor who used to be a paed in the hospital and he said if its a virus the antibiotics wont work but they wont harm him if its something else. apparently the orange stuff in his nappy is normal when babies dont eat or drink much, its something from the kidneys??
im a lot happier even though he;s still far from himself

BUT

my friend who i went shopping with last friday (so a week ago) has just told me her baby boy has come down with chicken pox. he was in contact with my ds...what are the chances of him getting it?

thanks to everyone for advice and reassurance xx

Oh, I feel for you... CP is most infectious about 3 days before the spots come out so I hope your LO got away with it. DS2 got CP at 5 months old and it wasn't pretty but the good thing was he didn't know how to scratch so that was good!

When my DCs get really ill and risk getting dehydrated, I give them all sorts of liquid to get fluid down them. Have you tried jelly? It's sweet, soft on the throat and is mostly water. Plus the sugar will be good for them if they haven't been eating.

There is a way that nurses (a nurse friend of mine taught me this!) get water down children who don't want to drink. It's fairly awful but it does the job. Basically, if you can hold your DS in such a way that you can hold his head firm in a grip, you pinch his nose and he will be forced to open his mouth to breath. If you use a syringe, you then squirt it towards the back of his throat. When we were last at A&E, there was a couple doing this to their fairly young daughter as she had a temperature that wouldn't go away and she wasn't drinking anything... It's horrible to watch but doesn't do them any harm and will help them with the liquid intake...

Mine were older when the got chicken pox (1&2 at the same time!) The days before the spots were the worst and the first day of spots. After that it was just dealing with the itch. DS1 was covered head to toe in them, DS2 had just a spattering!
Just keep at him to get fluids in. Every half hour for a while anyway. Also look after yourself - get some vit c and immune booster! Its tiring looking after a wee one when they are ill as they really just want cuddles and reassurance. You need to keep your strength up too

Hi

DS2 had these symtoms when he was 6 months, being sick and high temp and cough, saw 3 docs who told me it was a virus, until one docs sent me to hospital and turned out he had bronchiolitis which is a virus but also had a chest infection so needed antibiotics. I don't want to scare you but I was made to feel like I was worried for nothing and he ended up in hospital for 4 days. If you are still worried and he is not getting better I would go to A&E just to be on the safe side. Hope he gets well soon

Sorry, just noticed that he has antibiotics as well.

The orange stuff is normal when they are dehydrated, can't remember the name of it.

If he can keep down fluids then id just persevere at home.

If he can't just go to hospital.

My DD had a sickness bug for 11 days a few months ago when she was 10 months. She could keep down breast milk but nothing else. It took a few days before she would take lots of sips of water without throwing up.

Have water ready all of the time and keep getting him to sip it all day. If he sleeps all night, wake him to give sips of water a 3/4 times or he will be very dehydrated in the morning.

Hope he is better. x

Urates - ha! The orange stuff , I will go now....

To add to what sneakapeak says...

You need to offer him fluids a lot. Try to get him to take a teaspoon of water every 15min, if he can keep that down up to every 5 min. If he can't keep it down then straight to A&E. plus feeds, of course.

Your docs are almost certainly right and he does have a virus but dehydration is a serious complication in a little one.

as a note i discovered the other day you cant buy rehyrdation sachets for under 2s without a presciption.

you can buy dioralyte from the supermarket so no prescription needed as you just pick it off the shelf

Pip,

Is your son any better now?

Sounds to me like he could have bronchiolitis. But that is a virus they can do nothing for so like others have said its a case of getting the fluids into him, which I know is easier said than done!

Have you tried using a syringe to get the fluid in?

hi everyone - well what a nightmare this weekend has been...

saturday morning he deteriorated rapidly - i couldnt wake him up he was so drowsy so i phoned out of hours docs who sent an ambulance out to get us...we went to a & e, his temp went up to 39 and his breathing was short and rapid so too was hit heart rate. as we were waiting in one of the cubicles for a bed on the paeds ward he started developing a rash that wasnt disappearing when pressed. we were rushed up to the childrens ward to a treatment room where we were told he had suspected meningococcal infection and that they had to treat him straight away. as u can imagine i was absolutely beside myself and honestly dont think iv been so scared in all my life. they stabilised him with lots of iv fluids and antibiotics then gave him a chest x ray which showed he has a bilateral chest infection (on both sides) and a collapsed lung. his temp was still 39 and his heart rate was still very fast so we remained in treatment room with a doctor who did not leave our side for about 3 hours. he was admitted and put on a drip for antibiotics and fluids which seemed to work miracles.

we were allowed to bring him home today and are awaiting results for meningococcal but he is so much more himself - bouncing round smiling laughing etc and he's feeding small amounts of milk too.

should the docs have picked any of this up on the fri (the day before all this happened) because to be honest i am fuming that he got so bad after taking him 3 times in 5 days. surely if they'd listened sooner or acted sooner this would or could have been prevented?

thanks all for ur responses xx

You poor thing, sounds like a weekend from hell!

Not sure the docs can pick things up prior to development. Your instincts told you, correctly, that something was wrong. The docs can only go on the symptoms at the time, though. I would not be too hard on them.

Agree with larrygrylls. You have to go with your own instincts really as Doctors will see so many babies and small children with temp, virus, sickness etc.

Im surprised his chest didn't sound bad just the day before though .

You did well to keep on at them and im so glad he is ok. I can only imagine the hell you went through .

I have 2 small LO's and have had a few dashes to A&E and a few virus's that had me very unsure of the casual Doctors prognosis but all in all, what you went through will hopefully be a one off and you won't have to go through that again. x

Unfortunately our 5 week old was yesterday admitted into PICU with terrible breathing. Fine at 7AM, grey and struggling for breath at 11AM. Stable now in intensive care. Things change fast in little ones. I hope he recovers just as quickly though not really hopeful of that.

omg larry cant believe that hope he manages to recover in time for xmas...im so sorry...

Thanks Pip,

Off the high pressure oxygen and feeding again :). Wife there with him now and I have slightly off colour 18 month old to deal with. Huge relief though. Cannot recommend St Geoorge's PICU enough.